Milk-releaser.



A. STORRIB.

MILK RELEASER.

APPLICATION FILED Nov.1. 1913.

Patented Sept. 1, 1914.

3 SHEETS-SHEET l/.

A. STORRIE.

MILK RBLEASBB.

APPLICATION FILED Nov. 1, 1913.

1,109,370, Patented Sept. 1, 1914.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

W2' n C55 C5. -Inventor A. STORRIE.

MILK RELEASER.

APPLICATION FILED Nov.1, 1913.

1, 1 09,370. Patented Sept. 1, 1914.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

W117i@ l556.5. Javento r.

UNITED STATES PATENT oEEIoE-Ly ALEXANDER STORRIE, 0F INVERCA-RGIL, NEW ZEALAND.

MILK-linmean Specification of Letters Patent.

Application led November 1, 1913. Serial No. 798,719.

To all lwhom it may concern Be it known that I, ALEXANDER S'roRRir., a subject of the King of England, residing at Invercargill, New Zealand, have invented certain new and useful Improvements vin Milk-Releasers, of which the following is a specification.

The present invention relates to milk releasers of the type wherein two milk receiving chambersare employed and the weight of the liquid in the one chamber is made to move this chamber down for the discharge of the milk and for operating control ports so that the other chamber commences to fill without destroying the vacuum. Such milk releasers are used in conjunction with vacuum milking machines by means of which a number of cows are milked at one time and the milk from all is collected into a single system of piping and discharged into a res* ervoir under the action of an air exhauster which produces a partial vacuum in the system. It is necessary that the reservoir should be closed to the outside atmosphere in order that the vacuum may not be broken down and as it is undesirable to use a big reservoir it is necessary to discharge the milk from the reservoir to the usual cans by means of `a device which, while permitting such discharge from the reservoir will .yet not impair the vacuum in the system. Such mechanism is known as a milk releaser and it is an object of the present invention to provide an'improved milk releaser which will be continuous and automatic in its ac tion while the milking is going on;

The present invention contemplates the provision of a milk releaser of the type specilied wherein one chamber is iiXed and the other is movable, and the latter is raised by a yielding control and is held up by means of the combined action of the said yielding control and of atmospheric pressure. It is found that such a construction is of great advantage in that the yielding control, which may be a weighted lever, need only be sufficiently strong to raise the movable chamber to its uppermost position, while the atmospheric pressure acting upon the outside of the chamber against the reduced `pressure inside is sufficient to counterbalance the weight of the milk which is discharged into the chamber untill such a time as the chamber is almost full. In this Inanner the complexity of the construction is duced together with the weight and consequently the cost of the releaser. i

The invention ported member on the fixed chamber and a second ported member on the movable cham@ Patented septal, 1914. v

further contemplates ,a l

ber so arranged that movement of one chamber opens communication between the two chambers or shuts olf such communication as the case may be. A

In the construction about to be described there 1s an upper fixed chamber havin on its lower kside a depending trunk whic is surrounded by a sleeve fixed to the upper side of an under chamber that is movable 1n the direction of the axis of the sleeve.`- A port 1n the sleeve is provided and is adapted to register with a portin the trunk to perm1t the milk to pass from the upper chamber to the lower. Normally the lower chamber is held at the uppermost limit of its travel by means of a weighted lever and in this position the ports register so that the milkv passes to .the lower chamber. When sufiicientlmilk is in the lower chamber to overcome the action of the vacuum and the weight upon the lever the chamber sinks` and the ports no longer registers so that milk does not then pass. j

According to another feature of the invention the lower chamber is provided with a discharge valve which is normally held closed by means of the vacuum in the chamber; y.

When the lower chamber sinks it is adapted to cause an air port in the trunk to establish communication between the lower chamber and the atmosphere, thus breaking down the vacuum in the said chamber so that the discharge valve opens by the -weight of the milk and the latter is discharged. When the chamber is empty the weighted lever raises it to its uppermost position, closes the communication with the atmosphere, and opens communication with the upper chamber. The air in the lower chamber is thus eX- hausted and according to a feature of the invention an auxiliary port is provided in the sleeve to register with an auxiliary port in the trunk, which latter port communij tion will now be described in connectioncates With a pipe having an exit .nears-the top 0f the upper chamber. 4A valveis also provided ,to close the passage between the milk port in the sleeve and the lower cham-- ber.4 Thus the air exhausted from the lower chamber does not pass by way of the .milk passage but by way of the special auxiliary ports and pipe so that it has not to pass 'through the milk in the upper chamber.

with the accompanying drawings, but it is to be understood that this description is by way of exempliication of the invention and not of limitation since the details of construction and arrangement of parts may be modiie'd without departing from the spirit thereof.

In the accompanying drawings Figure 1 is a front elevation of a milk releaser ac` cording to this invention; Fig.V 2 is a partial sectional elevation of the releaser shown in Fig. 1 showing the lower chamber in its lowest position.; Fig. 3 is a sectional elevation of the parts shown in Fig. 2' showing the lower chamber raised; Fig. 4 is a vertical section of Fig. 8; Fig. 5 is a partial sectional elevation of a` modification showing the lower chamber raised; Fig. 6 is a view similar to Fig. 5 but showing the lower chamber in its lowest position, and Fig. 7 shows a modification of a supporting lever.

Like reference characters indicate 'like parts throughout the drawings.

Referring to Figs. l, 2, 3 and 4, a stand A has fixed upon it a closed chamber or milk cont-ainer A into which a pipe. A2

' connected to the usual milking system discharges the milk. A second `pipe A3 connects the chamber with the vacuum producing mechanism. -In order to prevent moisture from passing to the air exhauster a drip tank B is provided and the pipe As is passed therethrough. The pipe is provided with a partition A* and with holes A", Ae on either side thereof so that the air when extracted from the chamber A .l drip tank so that should any' milk be accidenta-lly sprayed and carried over by the air into the pipe it will be left behind and will not pass tothe exhauster.

ber D is provided internally with a sleeve D of such a size as to form a .sliding fit uponthetrunk C. lThis sleevefis provided wlth a port D2 having a Hap valve D3 at its outer side, this port being adapted` to be brought into communication with theV port C2. The sleeve D is also provided with an air port D* which is adapted to communicate with a passage C* in the trunk whose other end is open to the atmosphere during such communication. The sleeve D is also provided with an auxiliary' portDi which may be brought into communication with a passage Cs in the trunk, this passage hav ing at its uppper end a pipe C which ex` tends nearly to the top of the upper .cham ber A. l l

' The lower chamber D is provided 'withija discharge valve F Ipreferably of the ap type. This valve is protected by a hood or faucet F so that milk flowing therefrom.

a brush for cleaning the valve F `and the neighboring parts. The lower chamber D has attached to its underside a bracket Du to which is attached a stud carrying a roll D7. A bracket G is carried upon the stand A being adjusted thereon 'by means of collars A. A lever G is pivoted to the bracket G by means of a pin G2, one end of the lever lying underneath the roll D7 and the other end being provided with a weight G3 which, if desired, may be adjustable, and which is just suicient to raise the lower chamber when empty.

A pin G4 passes through the bracket G and the stand A to hold the bracket in operative position below the lower chamber, but by removing the pin the bracket and the lever may be swung aside to allow the chamber to be lowered and removedfor cleaning purposes. In order to prevent the lower chamber from turning during the normal reciprocation of the chamber a screw Ds passes through the sleeve D and engages a groove in thetrunk. 'The bracket G is provided with a screw G5 which will adjustably limit the descent of the lower chamber.

Inl order to prevent jarring during the reciprocation of the lower chamber it is provided upon its upper side with a rubber washer D9 adapted toV contact with the underside of the ange of the trunk. If desired a bale plate A8 may be fixed in the upper chamber A' to prevent the milk as it is discharged from the pipe Az coming into contact with the air which is discharged from the upper end of the pipe C. By

means of 'such a bafile'plate liability of moisture being .carried over to the pipe As by the extracted air is still further reduced.

The operation of the'mechanism is as follows The lower chamber D being empty is held in its raised position, as shown in Fig. 3, by the lever G Air is dra-wn from the upper chamber A through the pipe A3 and from the lower chamber through the -pipe C, for in this`position of the parts the air^portD5 registers with thepassage C5. I'f it were not for this passage and the valve D3. the air would be drawn through the port D2 and passage C and -through the milk, but the air' will take an unrestricted vpassage rather than pass through the descending milk infthe passage C. As the milk flows into the upper chamber A' from the pipe A2 it'w-ill pass on through the-passage C and ports C2, Dzand past the valve Dainto the lower' chamber and will be held there since the valve F `is held in its closed position by reason of the vacuum in the chamber.

Vhen the weight of milk in the lower chamber is sufficient to overcome the weight Gr3 and the iniiuence of the vacuum upon the trunk C the lower chamber will descend intoV the position shown in Fig. 2. In this position the ports D2 and D5 no longer register with the passages C and C5 but on the other'l hand the air port D4 will register with 'the passage C4- and will thus permit communication with the atmosphere which rushes into the chamber D until the pressure therein. is equal to atmospheric pressure. Consequently the weight of the milk" will open'the valve F and the milk will be discharged from the lower chamber without breaking down the vacuum in the upper 'chamberand the vacuum system connected4 therewith.

After the lower chamber has been emptied the weight Gs will again raise the said chamber and cut off the port yD4 from communication with the atmosphere,'atthe same time' causing registration of the ports Dal and D5 with the openings to the passages C2 and C5. The'air in'the lower chamber is again withdrawn through the pipe Ca without being passed through the milk, and the valve F is closed. It will be understood that this apparatus acts not only as a milk releaser but also as a milk measurer, 'since it sinks to discharge the milk from the lower chamber only after the balance weight Gr is overcome. The lever G instead of bearing directly upon the roll D7 may have pivoted to it a link G recessed at the top to receive the roll and also recessed to form a guideway for the lower end of the bracket D". By this means thelever G is spaced so far from the bracket D5 that by swinging thelink G from underneath the roll D7 the lower chamber D may be lowered suiciently far to remove itv for cleaning without the trouble of swinging the bracket G to remove the lever as -in the former construction.

A modification illustrated in Figs. 5 and 6 will now be described. In this case the upper chamber is provided with a depending trunk or cylinder H that is open at the top to the chamber and is closed at the bottom by theend of/ the cylinder. Near the lower end ofV the drunk or cylinder I-I are a number of holes II for the passage of the milk. The lower chamber is provided withl an upstanding sleeve J to encircle the cylinder H, this sleeve being provided with an annular groove J into which the holes H open when the lower chamber is at the top of its stroke. A passage J 3 forms a communication between the annular groove J and the interior of the lower chamber. The sleeve is also provided with an air passage J2 which when the holes H are in communication with the groove J is closed by means Vor an extension H2 depending from the cylinder H. When the lower chamber descends the holes H are removed from communication with the groove J so that no milk flows from the upper to the lower chamber and at the same time the petticoatfH2 rises suiiciently to clear the passage 'J2 so that atmospheric air is permitted to enter the lower chamber and equaliaes the pressure therein as in the former construction. In this construction the outlet valve of the lower chamber is provided Vwith an arm Krwhich when the chamber sinks contacts with the striker K and thus opens the valve.

Any ordinary counting mechanism may be employed, one form being shown in Fig. 1, in which a striker 'O is adapted to contact with the lower chamber each time that the said chamber sinks. By this means the number of reciprocations of the chamber may be counted and consequently the number of gallons of milk may be approximately estimated.

What I claim as my invention and desire to secure by Letters Patent is 1. A milk releaser comprising a 'plurality of chambers, means for moving one chaml ber relative to the other, communicating passages between said chambers arranged to be opened and closed by the relative movement of the chambers, means for admitting milk to one of said chambers, means for continuously exhausting the air from one of"said .chambers and from the other when shifted in proper position with relation thereto, the passages being arranged to permit milk to flow from one chamber to the other chamber when the chambers are in proper relation to each other, and means for withdrawing the milk from the last mentioned chamber when thechambers are moved to the position to close the communigli` iso

cating passages between the chambers, substantially as described.

2. A milk releaser comprising a fixed chamber and a movable chamber, a'milk inlet pipe connected to the fixed chamber, an air exhaust pipe connected to the fixed chamber, mechanical means for raising'the movable chamber with relation to the fixed chamber, there being communicatingvpas? sages between the fixed chamber and the movable chamber arranged to` be opened when the movable chamber is in its elevated position to permit the milk to flow from the fixed chamber to the movable chamber, and exhaust the air from the movable chamber, there being a port in the movablechamber arranged to be opened to the atmosphere when the movable chamber is in its lowest position, and a valve in the movable chamber to be opened to permit milk to iow therefrom when the movable chamber is in its lowermost position, substantially as described.

3. A milk releaser, comprising Aa retainer, a milk inlet connected to said retainer, an air exhaust pipe from said retainer, an automatic emptying and measuring device connected to said retainer, there being ports leading from said retainer and arranged to communicate with the emptying and measuring device, raising means for moving the measuring device to open said ports to` permit the air to be exhausted from the measuring device and to allow the milk to flow from the retainer to the measuring device, said measuring device being arranged to be retainer to keep the ports and passages open by the raising means and the atmospheric pressure on the outside of the measuring device, and adapted to move downward against the action lof the raising means and the atmospheric pressure when a predetermined amount of milk has passed to the measuring device, and means for automatically releasing the milk from the measuring device when it has moved downwardlyand closed the ports and passages between the measurscribed. A

4. yA milk releaser comprising a fixed chamber, a milk inlet leading tosaid chamber, an air exhaust pipe leading from said chamber, a hollow stem extending down-- wardly from said chamber, a movable chamber slidably mounted on said stem, there being ports for opening communication between the movable chamber and the fixed ber, and means for admitting air to the movv I able chamber when in its lowermost position, and means for permitting milk to iow from the movable chamber when in its lowered position, substantially as described.

5. A.milk releaser comprising a fixed chamber, a milk inlet pipe connected to said chamber, an air exhaust pipe connected to said chamber, a barile within said chamber between said pipes, a hollow stem extending downwardly from said chamber, a movable chamber slidably mounted on said stem, there being ports for opening communication between the movable chamber and the fixed chamber when the movable chamber is in its elevated position, to permit the milk to flow from the fixed chamber to the movable chamber and air Jfrom lthe movable chamber to the fixed chamber, means for raising the movable chamber relative to the ixed chamber, and means for admitting air torthe movable chamber when in its lower-- most position, and means for permitting milk to iow from the movable chamber when in its lowered position, substantially as described. v

6. A milk .releaser comprising a fixed chamber, a milk inlet pipe leading to said chamber, an air, exhaust pipe leading from said chamber, a` drip tank connected to the `latter' pipe,- means for causing the air to pass in reverse directions through said drip `'tank to separate any moisture from the air,

a hollow stem extending downwardly from said chamber, a movable`chamber slidably mounted onsaid stem, there being ports forl opening communication between the movheld 1n proper position wlth relation -to the able chamber and the fixed chamber when the movable chamber. is in its elevated posichamber to the movable chamber and air from the movable chamber to the ixed chamber, means for. raising the movable chamber relative to the ixed chamber, and means for admitting air to the movable chamber when in its lowermost position, and

g means for permitting'milk to flow from the movable chamber when in its lowered posii tion, substantially as described.

ing device and retfiner, substantially as de- 7'. A milk releaser, comprising a fixed chamber, av milk inlet pipe connected to said ichamber, an air exhaust pipe connected to i said chamber, a stem extending downwardly fromsaid chamber, a movable chamber having an internal sleeve slidably mounted on said stem, there being two passages in said stem communicating with the xed chamber, @there 'being a third passage in said stem communicating withthe atmosphere, a port extending through said sleeve arranged to open communication between the movable chamber and the atmosphere when the movable chamber is in its lowermost position, a plurality o f ports extending through the sleeve and arranged to register with the tion to permit the milk to iiow from the fixed able chamber is in its elevated position to In testimony whereof I have signed my open communications between.. the movable name to this specification in the presence of chamber and the st atlonary chamber, and two subscribing Witnesses.

means for elevating the movable chamber, ALEXANDER STORRIE. and means for permitting milk to flow from Witnesses: the movable chamber when in its lowered po- J. 'ARTHUR COOK,

siton, substantially as described. FRANCIS G. COBB. 

